Que tal, Buenos Aires?

This week's weather: 80s all week with light rain in Buenos Aires on Thursday night and Sunday during the day.

What I'm reading: Still working on the Bible, believe it or not. Just finished Genesis. 

I worked at the hostel in Cordoba Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Already have seen most of the sights here in Cordoba, I have found a routine a little more like a local and a little less like a tourist. We even went to see the new Wes Anderson movie, The Grand Hotel Budapest (two thumbs up), on Sunday night. The theatre was very nice in a nice mall, just like at home. 

On Wednesday I took an overnight bus to Buenos Aires! Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America, is an amazingly dynamic city so a few photos of my favorite things (in no particular order) will convey more than me blubbering on and on.*

Obelisco, an icon in BA!

1. Plaza de Mayo is a must see! While the plaza itself doesn't seem so different, a glimpse at Buenos Aires' past will show that this plaza is the humble setting for so much life-changing history!

Casa Rosada, Evita's stomping ground.

Plaza de Mayo, the people's square to let their voice be heard.

Plaza de Mayo with Casa Rosada in the background

Graffiti art in Plaza de Mayo for the veterans protesting
for better benefits and compensation for their service.

Cabildo, one of the oldest multi-purpose
buildings in BA. Now a public museum.

2. Biking Buenos Aires was a fun and fit way to get to know Buenos Aires' past, present, and future.

bikingbuenosaires.com

3. I loved the various neighborhoods of BA and each's unique identity and contribution to the vast cultural melting pot that is this great metropolis!

Bombonera, stadium el equipo La Boca. 

Pizza and pasta, Italians were stuck here and owned it.

"La Boca" meaning "the mouth," the "barrio" or
neighborhood of La Boca originated here. 

Colorful La Boca, may be the poor hood but rich in color.

Livin' la vida Boca.

Typical La Boca.

My Rocky moment

Not exactly the court I grew up playing on.

4. Sometimes you let the bad in with the good and the history of Buenos Aires is no exception. Learning more about the missing people and missing pieces of Las Guerras Sucias, wasn't exactly one of my favorite things but it certainly was moving and thought provoking.

Athletic Club used as a secret detention, torture, and
extermination center during the dirty wars 1976-1983. 
Research still being done to identify more of the missing. 

5. El Cemetario de Recoleta, located in the pricey side of town, this is an extravagant collect of elaborate, ornate mausoleos of the rich and famous of Argentina. If you were a general, president, celebrity or there is a street named after you, then you're probably resting here for all eternity. A friendly reminder that whatever you have now, you can't take with you.

Really old Bible in the cloister
next to Cemetario de Recoleta.

Only the best for mass. In the cloister overlooking 
Cemetario de Recoleta 

Cemetario de Recoleta 

Just as their lives, their graves are over the top.

Eva Peron 

Smiling but a little cryptic. 

There are more headstones still.

More graves, seen from the cloister.

Traditional pizza at the busy Guerrin- best slice I've yet in Arg yet!

Av Corrientes. Yes, I'm standing in the middle of a very busy street. #dumbtourist

Chess at the Jardin Japones, anyone?

El Jardin Japones

Here, fishie fishie...

6. My favorite thing in Buenos Aires was el Museo de Evita. A mutil-dimensional woman from acting to fashion to philanthropy to suffrage, her life cut so short and yet embraced so whole-heartedly by her people.

Museo de Evita.
I will return and I will be millions.--Evita

She's kind of a big deal.

!Que Moda!

I demanded more rights for women because I know
what women had to put up with. --Evita 

Teatro Colon

El Congresso

Cafe Tortoni, an institution.

7. Fernet! Finally, had my first taste of this Argentinian specialty with some Coca Cola. I consulted the ultimate source in facts and credible information and wikipedia described fernet as a bitter, aromatic spirit made with a smattering of herbs and grape distilled spirits. Some describe fernet as a cousin to jager but I found it had a slightly mintier, better flavor. Fernet is very popular in Argentina and it's only fitting that my first go went down in Buenos Aires because BA is responsible for 35% of Argentinian consumption of the good stuff. If it's good enough for Alfred, it's good enough for me!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwxuWbx_jCA

Fernet, speciality alcohol of Argentina

Pretty much sums me up at Brook,
a club in Palermo... After the fernet.

Adios, BA! You portenos have been great to me but it's back to Cordoba for another week.

*Or better yet, see Buenos Aires for yourself!

Week 2

Recent weather: Monday & Tuesday light rain, Wednesday overcast, Thursday & Friday sunny, 75.
Recent reads: The Bible. What better time than now to attack my goal of reading the whole Bible? Now this book may take me a while.

Since my camera is in the shop, I am short on photos this week.

One day I dropped by Paseo Buen Pastor where there was a musical water show at 7:00pm on the dot. No, I'm not at the Bellagio.

On Wednesday I hit another museum, El Museo de Emilio Carrafa, and actually loved it! The new 100th anniversary exhibit just opened March 13th but it was worth the wait. I was even impressed by "Futbol. El juego acaba cuando termina," a section dedicated exclusively to the cultural, social and political reach of futbol. My favorite was a series of photos with women sewing soccer balls while sitting in their dirt yards, with kids or dogs roaming in the background and the decrepit structure they called a house as the backdrop. Reaffirmed the fact that fubol is far more than just a sport; it unites countries and the world in a unique way.
http://www.museocaraffa.org.ar/

More interesting than some of the museums I've seen, was this artistic statement regarding the city of Cordoba's recycling initiative.

On Sunday I had mate for the first time at La Nieta! Mate (pronounced "ma-te") is hot tea and a critical part of Argentinian society. Anywhere you go you'll see locals carrying a lid-less metal mate cup with straw, mate and a thermos. Mate is a social activity, many are chatting and drinking mate in the many plazas, but also individuals will bring mate with them to work to sip all day. I am seriously considering purchasing my own. And with an open air roof top terrace with a lovely view of Nuevo Cordoba, La Nieta was the perfect spot for my first mate experience!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are my overnight shifts at the hostel. Frankly, I don't mind working from 12am-8am if it means fewer annoyed sighs from Argentinians wondering where in the world they are that I don't speak their language followed by my subsequent humiliation. The overnight shift also lends itself to some spectacular "before and afters," when vacationers head out for the bars around 1am looking well put together and return at the wee hours, slightly less put together.

Living at the hostel has proven to be somewhat Melrose Place-esque, as you can imagine. Rumor has it, some of the workers have, shall I say, "provided services beyond the job description" for some guests. Fortunately, it seems I am the last to know of any drama. Usually, by the time the grapevine reaches me, the guest and/or coworker have left Cordoba and are now breaking hearts in yet another South American town.

I have been sharing a room with a coworker, a Brazilian guy, which has worked out well. The other day while I was napping, he brought an unfamiliar girl into the room. Somehow, due mostly to the language barrier and multiplied by my grogginess, I assumed she was a new coworker. Later that evening when I returned to the room to go to bed for the night, using some basic math involving the number of empty beds in the room and the number of bodies present, I deduced that she was more likely the Brazilian's girlfriend. Huh.

More workers have been arriving this week as well, adding more spice to the melting pot that is Turning Point Hostel staff. We have the naive recent college grad from Boston who majored in Spanish but has never been west of Michigan or traveled abroad except for a high school class trip to a couple of European countries. On his first day he returned from the supermarket with fruit loops, Doritos, and a 6-pack of Activia. At least he'll be regular. Then, there's the 19 year old Belgium kid who got kicked out of his elite boarding school after 1 semester due to his poor academic performance and is now roaming around South America instead. Tough break, kid. Upside is that he speaks even less Spanish than I do. Downside is, considering he is fluent in 4 languages, it will probably only be a matter of days before his Spanish surpasses mine. Lastly, there's another guy from Rome who will be the manager here for the next 6 months. I am clearly outnumbered by dudes here but none of them have told me to go to the kitchen and make them a sandwich yet.

Street entertainment!

Carnival!

This week's weather: About 75 every day with a couple of afternoon rains.
Recent reads: The Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell; three novels featuring Rene Shade, a rough-around the-edges detective, in the corrupt, hillbilly town of St. Bruno. I bought it because it was the largest book on the shelf and thought it would last me at least a few days. Turns out, I really enjoyed them!

On Wednesdays admission to the museums in Cordoba is free so I decided to check out a couple of them for myself. First I went to the Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Geared towards children, it was still entertaining and air conditioned so I don't regret it.

Next, I went to the Museo de Bellas Artes Evita and Palacio Ferreyra. It had a good balance of portraits, photographs, landscapes, paintings, and drawings with a peppering of nudes to keep one interested. The palace itself was beautiful and this is coming from a girl isn't big on museums so that's saying something.

On Thursday I took a stroll to Parque Sarmiento for a reading session before working at the hostel on at 4pm. The park itself was lovely, well kept, with a nice pool. But the area around Parque Sarmiento didn't look like a tranquil area to relax so much as it looked like a nice place for a drug deal or to contract hepatitis, neither of which are on my itinerary.

And then there's this...

On Friday Cordoba had their mini Carnival celebration in the street with dance groups in amazing costumes, music, and a celebratory feeling in the air. I was blown away by the ornate group attire, tons and tons of glitter were no doubt used but it was well worth it! Definitely a highlight!

Friday night I hit the town with some of the hostel guests, a few girls from Scotland and a smattering of people from all over the world too. Here the clubs don't get started until 1AM and we shut down Maria, Maria around 6AM. Good times were had by all!

Low points:
1) On Wednesday I got sunburned. On my neck to my shirt line so it looks like I'm wearing a pink turtle-neck. And on my legs mid calf where my capris hit me to my sock line. Pretty attractive.
2) My camera broke. It's mostly fine but the lock that holds the battery cover in snapped off so the battery won't stay in enough to take a photo. On Sundays much of the town is closed so I'll have to wait until Monday to find a repair shop. Fingers crossed!

A Walk in the Park

Today's weather: sunny, 79 degrees
Recent reads:
1) A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean--The cover shows a guy fly fishing and this is one thing that you absolutely can judge by its cover. Almost entirely about fishing and life but even the life stuff uses fishing analogies.
2) Holes by Louis Sachar--Another quick read. I bought it at a book store yesterday and with a couple of hours in the park and a work shift, I had it read. The book store doesn't buy back used books :(

I'm coming on my first week in Cordoba and I can't complain. I have found a basic routine to occupy my time. I wake up around 10am-noon (rough life, I know) and grab a little breakfast here at the hostel. I head out for my daily walk towards el centro. I stop by La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus for a few minutes of meditation. I spend quite a lot of time at this church. They have services every day in the morning and at night but even throughout the day the church is usually open and always welcoming.

La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus

I walk for an hour or so, finding streets that I haven't explored before, just enjoying the stroll. After a while of walking I usually stumble upon a plaza or park where I find a shady spot to read. Sometimes I bring my South America guidebook and I read about a new city that I hope to see soon. Other times I read a book in English, or if I have my dictionary, I try to read una revista (magazine) in Spanish. I got the magazine on Friday and I'm still working through it. It's just Cosmo and I already know what it says since every issue is exactly the same (am I right?) but I look up all the words I don't know and try to commit them to memory. I've never read so much in my life but turns out I do actually really enjoy reading for leisure--who knew? Today I spend some time at Plaza de San Martin. There are lots of street vendors and the occasional protest that make for some light entertainment. At a break in the book, I continue on my way, navigating to another tourist site on my list that I haven't seen before.

Statue of San Martin and un perrito

La Iglesia Catedral at Plaza de San Martin

At some point in the day, I stop at a cafe for a cafe con leche y una medialunes (croissant)--my favorite part of the day! Lunch for the locals is 1-3pm with siesta between 4-5pm so many stores and restaurants are closed around these times but being a big city, there's always something open in Cordoba and people out and about, day or night. Dinners are usually around 10pm and clubs get started about 1am and close at 6am.

I usually return to la iglesia once more in the late afternoon on my way back to the hostel around 8pm where I make myself dinner, mostly pasta. I have stopped at the supermarket near the hostel to pick up wine, most are about $2US--even 2 buck Chuck has gone up to $3 so you can't beat this price!

Highlights:

Turning Point Hostel: Home, sweet, home...

1) My first reception shift at the hostel was yesterday. This is a highlight not so much because I enjoyed it so but more because it's one shift down and only two more this week. My duties include: checking in/out guests, inventory, basic cleaning, but mostly just sitting at the reception desk waiting. All the guests that checked in while I was working heard me speak Spanish initially and decided to speak English to me instead. It certainly made it easier but a little insulting none-the-less.
2) Today I went to a Spanish conversation session at a school for an hour! There were 3 other girls (from Italy, Holland, and Belgium) who were very nice and we hung out together after class. They each are staying with families outside the city and take a collectivo (bus) to and from the Spanish school each day.
3) I witnessed my first rain storm on Sunday. I happened to be in a cafe when it started, with thunderstorms and all, but it wrapped up before I was even done with my cafe!

Things I haven't yet gotten used to:
1) Throwing my used toilet paper in the garbage instead of the toilet.
2) Taking out the trash (since I work here) knowing people have thrown their used toilet paper in the garbage instead of the toilet.